Financial Aid Questions

[Led Zep]

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I don't know if this is the best place to ask these questions but I will anyway. If anyone knows where I should direct it please let me know.

I just finished undergrad with like 30K in loans and I'm starting an SMP this fall which will run me another 40k - 80k in loans depending if I opt for the 2 year masters on top of the one year SMP (It is optional).

Questions are:

Will I still be able to take out med school loans even after I'm already over 100K deep from my ugrad and grad loans?

Is there a cap? Are grad and med school considered seperately? Please help

 

[CodeBlu]

I don't know if this is the best place to ask these questions but I will anyway. If anyone knows where I should direct it please let me know.

I just finished undergrad with like 30K in loans and I'm starting an SMP this fall which will run me another 40k - 80k in loans depending if I opt for the 2 year masters on top of the one year SMP (It is optional).

Questions are:

Will I still be able to take out med school loans even after I'm already over 100K deep from my ugrad and grad loans?

Is there a cap? Are grad and med school considered seperately? Please help

I believe that medical school and grad school are considered separately.

 

[NickNaylor]

I believe that medical school and grad school are considered separately.

No. There are lifetime caps on the amount of federal loans you're allowed to take out; however, as a medical/graduate student this "allowance" is increased to account for the increased costs and length of training. Fortunately or unfortunately, graduate/professional students are considered in the same boat for the purposes of contributing to the lifetime cap, though medical students get a bigger bump in the limit compared to grad students.

As a medical student, your limit in total Stafford loans is $224,000. If you already have $100k+ in Stafford loans from undergrad, that's obviously going to be a problem unless you get some major non-loan aid.

 

[aSagacious]

Will I still be able to take out med school loans even after I'm already over 100K deep from my ugrad and grad loans?

Is there a cap? Are grad and med school considered seperately? Please help

Yes, SMP programs are counted as graduate level, while med school is considered medical level. Coming into med school with 100k+ in loans means that you will likely reach your lifetime limit in subsidized and unsubsidized Stafford loans in your 3rd year or so. You are then free to take out 'graduate PLUS loans' which were designed for such an occasion. They are a 'limitless' federal loan (payback period acts identically to the Stafford), with a catch. The limit that they loan you depends on your credit history, whereas the same Stafford limits are dispensed regardless of credit. If your credit isn't spectacular you could always have someone co-sign for your loans.

 

[Led Zep]

No. There are lifetime caps on the amount of federal loans you're allowed to take out; however, as a medical/graduate student this "allowance" is increased to account for the increased costs and length of training. Fortunately or unfortunately, graduate/professional students are considered in the same boat for the purposes of contributing to the lifetime cap, though medical students get a bigger bump in the limit compared to grad students.

As a medical student, your limit in total Stafford loans is $224,000. If you already have $100k+ in Stafford loans from undergrad, that's obviously going to be a problem unless you get some major non-loan aid.

Thanks alot! But this does mean that Graduate/Professional school is considered separate from Undergrad?

 

[aSagacious]

Thanks alot! But this does mean that Graduate/Professional school is considered separate from Undergrad?

They each have individual maximums, and eventually all contribute to your lifetime maximum (which is the sum of all loans acquired at each step).

http://finaid.msu.edu/limits.asp

 

[NickNaylor]

Thanks alot! But this does mean that Graduate/Professional school is considered separate from Undergrad?

No, they are all considered in one lump. As a medical student you're allowed a TOTAL of $224,000 in Stafford loans. It doesn't matter when you got them or at what level you were studying.

As aSag said, if you need more you can go the GradPLUS route. Hopefully you have good credit.

 

[NickNaylor]

They each have individual maximums, and eventually all contribute to your lifetime maximum (which is the sum of all loans acquired at each step).

http://finaid.msu.edu/limits.asp

That's a great chart. I was looking for something similar but couldn't find it.

 

[Led Zep]

This is just what I needed guys!

This was one of my major concerns.... I have great credit BTW lol

Thank again all!!